Joanna Trollope to chair the Orange Prize for Fiction in 2012

Orange Prize for Fiction Awards Ceremony: 15 June 2012

Acclaimed bestselling author, Joanna Trollope, has been confirmed as Chair of Judges for the Orange Prize for Fiction in 2012. Celebrating excellence, innovation and accessibility, it is the UK’s most prestigious annual book award for international fiction written by a woman.

“This is such an impressive prize. I have long been a fan of Kate Mosse, and I have admiringly watched the Orange Prize grow into an award of real stature.” commented, Joanna Trollope, “It has produced winners of true distinction and originality and I love the fact that it is generously and properly open to the world. I was so pleased to be invited to chair next year’s prize, and much look forward to working with the judges over the coming winter. It will be exciting – the Orange Prize always produces rewarding surprises”.

Kate Mosse, Co-Founder & Honorary Director of the Orange Prize for Fiction, commented: “We are delighted that Joanna Trollope has agreed to chair the 2012 Orange Prize for Fiction. Not only is she one of the UK's most admired and best-loved novelists, she is also one of the most generous in terms both of the support she gives to fellow writers and the time she devotes to the promotion of reading and literacy.”

Joanna Trollope has been writing for over thirty years: from historical novels at the beginning of her career to her enormously successful contemporary works of fiction, several of which have been televised. The Rector's Wife was her first number one bestseller and made her into a household name and since then she has written eleven more contemporary novels, including the newly published Daughters in Law. Alongside her commitment to education, Joanna has recently been a keen supporter of the Evening Standard's Get London Reading campaign.

The Orange Prize panel is made up of five women and the full panel for 2012 will be announced in the autumn. The full line up of Orange Prize chairs is as follows: Kate Mosse (1996), Lisa Jardine (1997), Sheena Macdonald (1998), Lola Young (1999), Polly Toynbee (2000), Rosie Boycott (2001), Sue MacGregor (2002), Ahdaf Soueif (2003), Sandi Toksvig (2004), Jenni Murray (2005), Martha Kearney (2006), Muriel Gray (2007), Kirsty Lang (2008), Fi Glover (2009), Daisy Goodwin (2010) and Bettany Hughes (2011).

The Orange Prize for Fiction was set up in 1996 to celebrate and promote fiction by women throughout the world to the widest range of readers possible and is awarded for the best novel of the year written by a woman. Any woman writing in English – whatever her nationality, country of residence, age or subject matter – is eligible.

The winner receives a cheque for £30,000 and a limited edition bronze figurine known as a ‘Bessie’, created and donated by the artist Grizel Niven. Both are anonymously endowed.

Previous winners of the Orange Prize for Fiction are Helen Dunmore for A Spell of Winter (1996), Anne Michaels for Fugitive Pieces (1997), Carol Shields for Larry’s Party (1998), Suzanne Berne for A Crime in the Neighbourhood (1999), Linda Grant for When I Lived in Modern Times (2000), Kate Grenville for The Idea of Perfection (2001), Ann Patchett for Bel Canto (2002) Valerie Martin for Property (2003), Andrea Levy for Small Island (2004), Lionel Shriver for We Need to Talk about Kevin (2005), Zadie Smith for On Beauty (2006), Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie for Half of a Yellow Sun (2007), Rose Tremain for The Road Home (2008), Marilyn Robinson for Home (2009), Barbara Kingsolver for The Lacuna (2010) and Téa Obreht for The Tiger’s Wife (2011).

For the 2012 Orange Prize for Fiction, novels must be published in the UK between 1st April 2011 and 31st March 2012. The prize is administered by Booktrust, the UK charity for books and reading. Orange has sponsored the prize since its inaugural year, 1996. For more information, please visit www.orangeprize.co.uk

For press enquiries, please contact:

Naomi Li at M&C Saatchi:

Tel: 0207 544 3687

Email: naomi.li@mcsaatchi.com

-ENDS-

About Orange UK

Orange is the key brand of the France Telecom Group, one of the world's leading telecommunications operators. With almost 131 million customers, the Orange brand now covers Internet, television and mobile services in the majority of countries where the Group operates.

In the UK, Orange provides high quality GSM coverage to 99% of the UK population, and 3G coverage to more than 93%.

Orange and any other Orange product or service names included in this material are trade marks of Orange Brand Services Limited.

On July 1 2010, the company became part of Everything Everywhere, one company that runs two of Britain's most famous brands - Orange UK and T-Mobile UK - with plans to transform the industry by giving customers instant access to everything, everywhere, offering them the best value, best choice and best network coverage in the country. Everything Everywhere Limited is the UK’s biggest communications company, with a combined customer base of almost 28 million people and more than 720 retail stores across the country. Everything Everywhere Limited is registered at Hatfield Business Park, Hatfield, Hertfordshire, AL10 9BW under the registered company number 02382161.

For more information please call the Orange Press Office 0870 3731500, or visit www.orange.co.uk/newsroom